I am the product of everything I have experienced in my life, whether I know I’m being influenced or not. This is probably the last blog post from India, but the effects of my time here will undoubtedly inspire my future posts, my time on the road and my life.

I write this post from Darjeeling, a town in the clouds in the invisible part of India, the North East. The visibility is low, but the weather forces a feeling of calm and allows me to see clearly across the time I’ve spent here and what I’ve learnt.

This part of my journey takes me from Kolkata to Darjeeling. I like Kolkata, I’ve been meaning to use the word juxtaposition in a sentence for a long time, I guess I can tick that off the ‘to do list’ now. Kolkata the second British Capital is for me the most interesting city. A history of academia and politics creates a culture not dissimilar to London, with architecture, street names and parks to match. But of course there is the strong contrast with London since Kolkata is still a bustling Indian city.

Whilst in Kolkata I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to listen to Sunjeev Sahota speak on writing about India from the perspective of an outsider. He like me is a young British born Indian, but he was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2015 for his novel ‘The Year of the Runaways’. It was interesting to hear him talk of his thoughts of India and how he combined experience, anecdotal evidence, research and imagination to write and how he doesn’t worry too much about his portrayal of India because he has no Agenda, but simply writes. He seemed like a down to Earth guy and our exchange at the end of the talk,

‘I really enjoyed the book’,

‘Thank you’,

left me with a good impression. He also had a similar message about being part of a community that I heard from the Dalai Lama. In his case his community was his family and friends, something I can relate to; community appears to be a recurring theme throughout my journey.

The reason I was in Kolkata was to get my Myanmar visa, here is what is required at the time of writing the blog. I am crossing from India to Myanmar through the border near to Manipur, the only land border crossing open to foreigners between the two countries.

Manipur permit is not required

‘Special Land Border Permit’ is required and available from Exotic Myanmar Travels for ($80, 20 day turnaround time, exact day of entry must be provided)

Visa application can be done in Kolkata (1400 rupees, 2 day turnaround time)

One passport photograph

Fill in the application at the high commission

Email correspondence with Exotic Myanmar showing you’ve applied and paid for the permit.

Exact date of entry must be provided.

After acquiring my Myanmar visa I get back into the saddle, the hectic atmosphere of the city disappears slowly, the journey to get out of Kolkata is difficult, I should have gotten up earlier, but the nerves of riding in India kept me awake, the life saving horns from the ‘autos’, trucks, motorbikes and cars reverberate through my skull.

Behind very beep of the horn a smiling Bengali face, staring at me, a man on a bike dressed like a Power Ranger. I break out of the city, a single road will take me to Siliguri. India like many eastern countries builds huge highways, but they are used by all; tractors, cows, ducks, chickens, cars and trucks. This makes it oddly safe as every driver is prepared to accommodate a goat. I am the goat.

I stop by a stand on the side of the road and watch as the man dusts his oranges. Bengal is a dusty place, I ride each mile with my sunglasses and a mask, but my bogeys are still black and the water runs like a river of tar toward the plughole. Six days of highway riding, ‘sleeping’ in hotels that are so close to the road that sleep is merely a dream. Six days of polluted dirty Bengal and reach Siliguri, but now the good bit, the ride to Darjeeling.

Seventy seven kilometers and 2000m climb. The ride is brutal, but this was easily the best cycling I’ve done in India. The miles and miles of highways, screaming motorised vehilcles were worth this one day, this is cycle touring in India; denial, denial, denial, denial,….,nirvana. The road goes up and up and up, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway follows the road like a well matched curve to a large data set, occasionally sneaking off into the forest, but always finding the way back. No need for navigation, just extrapolate and allow yourself to be lead by the sound of the steam train.

Eleven hundred kilometers will take me to the border of Myanamar. In a time where India is at the forefront of the public domain thanks to Coldplay, Beyonce and Narendra Modi I would like to give India a chance. I’ve decided that India is a good destination for travel, but have to come to the obvious realization that cycle touring gives you an insight into a country that other forms of travel do not. It allows you to see between the points of interest, or rather redefines the points of interest. But these in between points of interest I’ve discovered make me sad. Simply put, I am able to send a tweet or stream the latest Friends episode, but I can’t wash my hands with clean water and all I can smell is excrement. I find myself using the phrase ‘this is India’ like a valid excuse to ignore road signs, throw litter, jump queues and illegally obtain alcohol; I try not to do these things.

My final thought on India. If you stay in the tourist bubble, following the lonely planet, trip advisor path to enlightenment then you will love India. You will look back on her with fond memories as the place you really experienced culture. Ride a bike through it and you will fall in love with the country and the people, but look back on it like you look back on your ex wife; India is the most emotive country I have endured and it’s incredibly dirty. You should ride your bike in India, but you won’t like it until you leave. It’s turned me into a praying atheist.

My tips for cycle touring in India:

Get used to being stared at, you are interesting.

Bring a face mask, the pollution can be bad.

Eat freshly cooked, hot food.

Take a train sometimes, for the experience and because India is so big.

Leave your western ideals at home, but don’t forget them.

Thank you all for spending the time to read my blog. I ride self funded, but am collecting money for an elderly charity called ageUK Oxford who support our elderly. If you would like to donate please click on the link.

www.justgiving.com

Shayl